


Can’t save them all (or maybe you can)

by GMGT



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: And then they were roommates, Don’t get your hopes up, Harry regrets everything, PTSD, Read at Your Own Risk, Slytherin Harry, Snape and Malfoy are acting ooc, The vast majority of these characters are only mentioned, This is basically a short blurb I wrote for a Slytherin Harry challenge, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, but I promise they have a reason for it, haha good times, no beta we die like men, remember how I said this was a one shot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-02-22 15:09:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22618093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GMGT/pseuds/GMGT
Summary: Harry always knew that savior complex of his would come back to bite him.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 52





	1. The Boy Who Lived Twice (It's All Downhill From Here)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whoever said that all was well can take it up with Harry's PTSD.  
> Hint: They're gonna lose.

They had won.

  
Voldemort was defeated, the Death Eaters cowed, justice served.

Everything was fine now. Harry should be overjoyed.  
And yet...

A list of names kept cycling through his head.

Dobby.  
  
Tonks.

Remus.

Sirius.

Cedric.

Fred.

He could never get away.

He sees movement in the corner of his eye, a flash of house elf magic.

George would always falter in the middle of his sentences- waiting for the interjection that would never come.

Little Teddy would sometimes ask for his parents. No one knew how to explain why they could never come.

Harry knew that all time turners had been destroyed. That even if he had one, he could never truly change anything. But that didn’t stop his from trying his best. And after months of hard work, and some questionable dealings, he had finally done it.

He had come back to the first year of Hogwarts.

It was time for the greatest test of all: the sorting hat.

“It’s been a while since I had a time traveler like you.” The hat murmured. Whatever Harry had been expecting, it certinly wasn’t that.

“But where to put you...”  
Griffindoor, please. Harry thought loudly.

“Ah, but would you learn there? I think not. Your plan was very ambitious, don’t you think?”  
No. NO.  
“Yes, and cunning too. Better be SLYTHERIN” The hat yelled into the hall. Harry paled. This was not going to be good.

Murmurs spread throughout the hall. Harry Potter, in Slytherin?

Sitting at his table, Draco Malfoy smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are loved and appreciated.


	2. Come To My Parlor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All Harry asked for was for one thing to go according to plan. This was going to take a while to get used to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...  
> I guess this isn't a one shot anymore. Yay. Someone stop me.

The rest of the sorting ceremony was a daze. Harry could barely recognize his classmates' stares through the relentless throbbing of his head , struggling to comprehend the magnitude of what just happened. How could things have already gone so wrong?  
When he next looked up, he was inside the dungeons, surrounded by students in green, pushing and pulling as they made their way to their dorms. Most of them filed out, leaving the first years alone in the common room. The room seemed bare and empty, compared to his vague memories of his second year. Odd, considering how many students should already be living here. Maybe they were cleaned out on a yearly basis?  
He was snapped out of his revere by the sharp nasally voice of Professor Snape. Oh. Right. He would be Harry’s head of house. While Harry had long forgiven Snape, and even respected him, that didn’t mean he had to enjoy his presence.  
“Welcome, new Slytherins. For the next seven years, this will be your home, your family.” Snape paced, eying the students. “Within these walls, we are all Sytherin first and foremost. There will be no infighting, no matter your personal beliefs. Understood?” Snape sneered, but Harry could tell he didn’t mean it. He had seen enough malice directed at him to tell when it was faked. “Yes Sir!” the students responded in unison, standing ramrod straight.  
“Your room assignments have been posted on the wall. No, I will not accept bribes to switch roommates. Ask an older student to help you if you have trouble finding your room. ”  
He paused, uttering one last sentence before leaving the room with a flourish. “Those who require my help need only ask.”  
Harry only stood there for several seconds, unable to comprehend this strange land that he had somehow walked into. Was he sure he didn’t find himself in an alternate dimension? He didn’t even think Snape was capable of using such a soft voice. Sure, he and Ron had always known he favored Slytherins, but to this extent? Harry was suddenly jerked from his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. “Excuse me, are you alright?” a familiar voice called from behind. “You’ve been staring at the wall for quite a long time.” Harry turned, to be faced by none other than Draco Malfoy, smiling as he held out his hand in greeting. Harry blinked. And blinked again. Nope, still there. Just when Harry had thought things couldn’t get any weirder. Malfoy frowned, before starting again. “We seem to be roommates. It would be a bad idea to get on the bad side of someone you live with, don’t you agree? My Mother told me all about it. ” Harry could have cried out in relief. At least something was still the same. “Probably, yeah.” He responded.  
“He speaks!” Malfoy said joyfully. “We should head to our room, don’t you think?”  
Harry nodded quickly. The room was much like his old one in Gryffindor, albeit in different colors. If Harry closed his eyes, he could almost imagine he was back there now. The last thing he heard before falling asleep was Malfoy saying, “I think we will be great friends.”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Malfoy is probably a little out of character right now, sorry. Hopefully next chapter will provide sufficient explanation for his actions.


	3. Said the Spider to the fly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If there’s one thing that can be said about Slytherins, it’s that they always have a plan. If there’s one thing that can be said about Draco Malfoy, it’s that he’s a Slytherin through and through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My computer is currently AWOL, so we’ll see how this goes.

If there’s one thing that can be said about Slytherins, it’s that they always have a plan. If there’s one thing that can be said about Draco Malfoy, it’s that he’s a Slytherin through and through.  
Ever since he had realized who they were, Draco’s plans had revolved around one boy. Harry Potter. When Draco has first met the boy at Madame Malkins, he had dismissed him outright. A clueless nobody with no power and no importance.   
His assumptions were shaken again, when he offered a hand of friendship, only to be sharply rebuffed.   
Then he was sorted, and Draco scrambled to keep up. Draco was not a fool. But yet, as he watched the boy walk towards the Slytherin table, he couldn’t help but feel he was looking at a different boy than the one who he had conversed with just a minute before.  
There were two options he could see. Either he had fatally misjudged the boy’s character (hardly likely, he scoffed), or something had changed.  
So, Draco has a plan. (A little voice in the back of his mind urged that is was barely a concept, let alone a plan. Draco ignored it, as he was prone to do.) Befriend the Potter Boy. Or else.  
Obviously, the usual tactics would not work on him.  
Potter was new to this game, unaware of the basic workings of the wizarding world. Draco would be an anchor, showing him how to play- and showing him that his side was the one to be on.  
Draco smirked, making eye contact with Potter for the first time.


End file.
